After a slow first quarter, the Detroit Pistons took control of tonight’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans en route to a decisive victory in the return of former coach Stan Van Gundy to Detroit.
The victory is the eighth of the Detroit season and, in some way, puts the team in just four games of the eight seedings in the weak Eastern Conference. This says more about the Orient than it does about the Pistons.
Without Blake Griffin (rest) and Sekou Doumbouya (concussion), the Piston bench players stepped up and spurred several runs. But the biggest story was Mason Plumlee’s first triple-double career.
Plumlee scored 17 points for 10 rebounds and 10 assists, all while battling his formidable opponent Steven Adams. Plumlee was totally solid, which was adequate on a night when almost the entire team performed well.
Saddiq Bey was rewarded for his best career performance against Boston and responded with 16 points from four of the eight long shots while playing a solid defense.
Plumlee and Bey were two of the six (!) Pistons with at least 15 points against the Pelicans. That group included Svi Mykhailiuk, who kicked well off the ground when making plays outside the dribble while attacking the locks.
The younger wing rotation has led to many more hit attacks in general, and many smart kick outs have led to the best ball movement game of the year in Detroit. On several occasions, the Pistons arguably passed the ball also a lot in trying to keep the ball moving.
Defensively, the Pistons did a good job limiting unnamed Pelicans Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson, who scored 26 points each. Despite these numbers, Detroit made the two dynamic Pelicans’ top scorers work for everything they could.
All of this resulted in Detroit’s first winning streak of the season. It comes at a time when your youngest players are starting to develop some chemistry and are building their success game by game.
Other thoughts
- Isaiah Stewart played as well defensively as you can at Zion Williamson. Zion broke up with him a few times, but Stewart was a brick wall, as usual.
- Josh Jackson has returned from his ankle injury and the breeding is becoming a real thing.
- Dennis Smith Jr. hit some really bad shots, but he acted within the attack while being assertive, which is the role Detroit needs him to play.
- It was nice to see the rest of the team carry some additional offensive charges with Jerami Grant struggling a little.